Valencia’s second equaliser was an own goal, and Real Sociedad still won it in the 91st minute

Valencia have scored four goals in seven La Liga matches this season. One of them was put in by a Real Sociedad defender on Sunday night, and it still did not get them a point.

Luken Beitia turned the ball into his own net in the 84th minute at Mestalla to make it 2-2. Ander Barrenetxea won it for Real Sociedad a minute into stoppage time. Valencia are 19th.

Two equalisers, no reward

Luka Sučić put the visitors ahead on 26 minutes and Valencia spent the next half-hour chasing the game, which is roughly what they have been doing since August. Aaron Mayol levelled it in the 57th and for about eighteen minutes Mestalla had something to hold onto.

Then Carlos Soler stepped up to a penalty in the 75th and put Real Sociedad back in front. Beitia’s own goal nine minutes later dragged Valencia back again, and at 2-2 with six minutes of added time coming, a draw looked like the least they deserved from a night they had twice rescued.

They did not get it. A corner in the first minute of stoppage time came out to Soler, whose ball found Barrenetxea on the right side of the box, and the finish went into the top right corner. Two touches, no argument.

The five minutes after that

Valencia had time and they used it. Aimar Blázquez, on for Hugo Duro since the 82nd minute, got his head on a Luis Rioja cross and Álex Remiro saved it low to his left. Seconds later Blázquez shot from the left of the six-yard box and missed. Orri Óskarsson picked up a second yellow in the 96th minute and Real Sociedad finished with ten. In the seventh added minute Pepelu and Pablo Maffeo both had shots blocked in the box.

Four chances in the last five minutes, none of them taken. That is the season in miniature: Valencia get into the right positions and then something stops working.

Soler’s night at his old ground

Carlos Soler was born in Valencia, joined the club’s academy as a boy and made his senior debut for them. On Sunday, in front of 45,122 people at the ground where he grew up as a footballer, he scored a penalty against them and set up the goal that beat them.

Real Sociedad move to eighth on ten points, which for a side that has lost three of seven and conceded 13 reads better than the season has felt. Three points at Mestalla from a game in which they led twice and were pegged back twice is the kind of night that papers over a lot.

Valencia sit 19th on four points, one place off the bottom, with one win from seven and four goals scored. They are not being outclassed, exactly. They scored twice at home here and had four chances to make it 3-3. But the table counts points, not near misses, and after seven rounds Valencia have four of them.

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